Abstract 3708: OMX-0407, a highly potent SIK3 inhibitor, sensitizes tumor cells to cell death and eradicates tumors in combination with PD-1 inhibition
Authors: Christina Hartl, Ilona-Petra Maser, Tillmann Michels, Ronny Milde, Vanessa Klein, Philipp Beckhove, Nisit Khandelwal, Hannes Loferer, Stefan Bissinger
Journal: Cancer Research (2022)

Abstract Post-translational modifications of DNA and histones can improve the intrinsic antitumor capacity of the immune system. Using the iOTarg screening platform, salt-inducible kinase 3 (SIK3) was identified as a novel epigenetic modulator in cancer therapy. SIK3, a serine/threonine kinase of the AMP-activated protein kinase family, is known for regulating the NF-κB driven gene landscape through phosphorylation of class IIa histone deacetylases (HDACs) and CREB-regulated transcriptional coactivators causing the tumor to evade death receptor-mediated killing. Moreover, salt inducible kinases were recently described to regulate cell cycle checkpoints and thereby promote cancer cell proliferation. We demonstrate that SIK3 knockdown abates downstream pro-survival signaling and induces cell death in a distinct panel of tumor cell lines. OMX-0407, an orally available, single-digit nanomolar inhibitor of SIK3 was shown to effectively reduce TNF-induced HDAC4 phosphorylation and downstream NF-κB activity in a dose-dependent manner, thereby enhancing apoptosis in murine and human tumor cell lines. OMX-0407 dose-dependent suppression of intratumoral NF-κB activity was shown in vivo in an MC38 NF-κB-luc reporter cell line. Using OMX-0407 monotherapy, this translated to significant tumor growth inhibition as well as prolonged survival in the highly immune infiltrated syngeneic murine colorectal carcinoma model MC38. Besides its direct inhibitory effects on cancer cells, OMX-0407 repolarizes the tumor microenvironment (TME) by strongly decreasing regulatory T cells (T-regs) and M2-polarized macrophages in the tumor bed, while not affecting the peripheral T cell compartment. Thus, exposure to OMX-0407 leads to a distinct pro-inflammatory TME, characterized by an expansion of activated cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) and an increased CTL-to-T-reg ratio. Using an immune-excluded tumor phenotype as seen in the breast cancer mouse model EMT6, we demonstrated that OMX-0407 and anti-PD-1 act synergistically by combining the sensitization towards cell death with a reduction in immunosuppressive TME and an increase in cytotoxic T cell activity, despite having only minimal anti-tumor efficacy as monotherapy. Thereby, partial or complete tumor remission in 60% of the animals and extension of overall survival were achieved. In summary, OMX-0407, a first-in-class oral SIK3 inhibitor, demonstrates potent monotherapy efficacy in a pro-inflammatory tumor setting by reshaping the immune compartment and accelerating tumor cell death. The ability of OMX-0407 to remodel an immunosuppressed TME in a generally cold tumor setting, harbors great clinical potential for OMX-0407 combination therapy with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint blockade, specifically in patients with high unmet medical need who are resistant to current immune checkpoint inhibitor monotherapy. Citation Format: Christina Hartl, Ilona-Petra Maser, Tillmann Michels, Ronny Milde, Vanessa Klein, Philipp Beckhove, Nisit Khandelwal, Hannes Loferer, Stefan Bissinger. OMX-0407, a highly potent SIK3 inhibitor, sensitizes tumor cells to cell death and eradicates tumors in combination with PD-1 inhibition [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 3708.